Ledyard man accepts plea deal

A Ledyard man accused of owning explicit videos of children has accepted a plea bargain that would send him to prison for a year.

JOHN BARRY

A Ledyard man accused of owning explicit videos of children has accepted a plea bargain that would send him to prison for a year.

James Bacon, 62, pleaded guilty Thursday in New London Superior Court to third-degree child pornography possession.

Bacon made the guilty plea under the Alford Doctrine, which means he does not admit guilt, only that the state has enough evidence to convict him.

The one-year sentence is a mandatory minimum. After his release, Bacon will be required to register as a sex offender. His sentence also includes 10 years’ probation. Bacon is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 13.

Bacon had faced a maximum of 20 years in prison under an earlier charge of first-degree child pornography possession.

Bacon, who has no previous criminal record, is free on $100,000 bail. He was arrested Feb. 5 after an investigation by the state police Computer Crimes Unit.

Police said in an arrest warrant that Bacon downloaded three suspected child pornography videos between July 24 and Aug. 2. The videos depicted girls younger than 12 years old having sex with adult men, police said.

After learning Bacon’s address through his Internet service provider, state police and Ledyard police raided his home on Oct. 10. They seized his computer and an external hard drive that contained 49 videos and two images of suspected child pornography, or a total of 51 items, police said.

After being questioned, police said, Bacon gave a signed statement in which he admitted downloading child pornography and having between 45 and 55 videos. He denied in the statement, however, ever having sexual contact with a child or chatting online with one.